Mamata Banerjee Sharpens Attack on ‘Traitor’ Suvendu Adhikari

Stepping up an attack against friend-turned-bitter foe and BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday called him a “traitor” and said that she had blindly supported Adhikari when he was in the Trinamool Congress (TMC).

“I blindly supported him. My care towards him was blind. But now I will not tolerate it any more. No place for ‘gaddar’ (traitor). No place for ‘Mir Jafar’. We will not leave an inch to him and to any opposition candidates in any seats in Bengal,” said Banerjee while addressing a public rally at Tamluk area in East Midnapore.

At the same time, she also claimed that the results of upcoming West Bengal assembly elections 2021 will decide the fate of BJP leaders like Narendra Modi and Amit Shah in 2024 Lok Sabha polls.

Adhikari, a minister in Banerjee’s government, used to handle state’s transport and irrigation ministry. He walked out of the TMC in December and later joined the BJP.

“We have to unite against these evil forces. They came to Bengal to divide us. You voted for BJP (in 2019 Lok Sabha) and they cheated you. They gave you nothing. We are giving you free ration and the BJP government at the Centre is increasing the price of LPG. They will retire if you help us in defeating them in this assembly polls,” she added.

Calling herself a “custodian of people’s rights”, Banerjee said she would not let anyone harm their interests.

Asserting that her fight against National Register of Citizens (NRC) and National Population Register (NPR) will continue, she said, “I will not allow it (NRC and NPR) to happen here in Bengal. I will do everything to protect the people of my state, as long as I am alive.”

Appealing people to cast votes in favour of TMC, she said, “Bengal doesn’t want to see his (Modi) face and this will be evident after the poll results are declared. I would like to tell my brothers and sisters that don’t look at the candidates. Look at my TMC symbol and vote for me. If they don’t vote for TMC, then Bengal will be divided and people will not live in peace.”

Calling youths and students as the future of Bengal, she further said that her TMC government has increased the budget three times for education, sports, and culture in her manifesto. “To ensure higher education to all eligible students, I will launch a new ‘Student Credit Card’ soon. This credit card will have a credit limit of Rs 10 lakh with an interest rate of only 4 per cent, with a provision of easy repayment so that students do not have to depend upon their parents to continue their studies.”

For farmers’ welfare schemes, the TMC chief said, “We are going to provide Rs 10,000 per acre/per annum to all small and marginal farmers through ‘Krishak Bandhu’ scheme.”